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France opened their CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland, but the scoreline hardly tells the whole story.
The two-time Olympic champions were pushed all the way by a determined Swiss side before eventually securing a 25:23, 31:29, 25:21 victory in Cluj-Napoca.
France could hardly have asked for a better start. Serving from Brizard helped them race into a 6-0 lead, but Switzerland gradually found their rhythm and began to put the favourites under pressure. Three consecutive aces from Lara Migge brought the Swiss level at 17-17, setting up a tense finish. France’s experience then proved decisive, with Iyiegbekedo delivering the final point of a 25-23 opening set.
The second was even more dramatic. France led 8-5, only for Switzerland to overturn the momentum and move ahead 21-18 after an attack and a block from Hauke. The French fought back to 22-22, but Switzerland continued to threaten what would have been a major upset.
France were forced to save five set points before finally taking their second opportunity to close out the marathon set 31-29. Theo Faure delivered the decisive point, reaching 15 points at that stage of the match!
Switzerland refused to surrender in the third, again starting strongly, leading 9-6, before France turned the score around to 10-9. The Swiss stayed within striking distance at 16-15, but this time France managed to create some breathing room. Antoine Brizard’s third ace of the match helped establish a 21-18 advantage, and the favourites finally closed the contest 25-21.
Theo Faure was the leading scorer for France with 21 points through 56% in attack and 1 block, while Trevor Clévenot also contributed with 11. Lars Migge led Switzerland with 13 points, followed by Joel Hauck with nine and Cyril Kolb with eight.
The result gives France an important opening victory, but Switzerland’s performance also sends an early warning that Pool D may be considerably more competitive than the world rankings suggest.
And the pool immediately delivered another twist.
Germany produced one of the day’s most significant results by coming from behind to defeat Türkiye 3-1 (23:25, 25:22, 25:21, 25:19), overturning an early Turkish advantage and taking control of the match after the opening set.
Türkiye looked the sharper side at the beginning and managed to edge a tight first set 25-23. Germany, however, responded immediately, leveling the match at 1-1 with a 25-22 second set before taking command, winning the third 25-21 and completing the comeback with a convincing 25-19 in the fourth.
Moritz Karlitzek led Germany’s scoring with 16 points, while Moritz Reichert added 14. Anthon Brehme contributed nine points and was particularly efficient in attack, finishing the match with a remarkable 75% success rate.
Türkiye were led by Gökçen Yüksel with 16 points, with Adis Lagumdzija adding 15 and Efe Bayram 13, but they were unable to recover once Germany had taken control.
About Pool D, France remain one of the leading contenders despite their difficult evening against Switzerland, while Germany have immediately put themselves into the conversation at the top of the group after overturning Türkiye.
France will face Türkiye in their next match, a particularly intriguing clash given that Türkiye defeated the French 3-0 in the Volleyball Nations League in Ottawa earlier this summer.
The outcome of that meeting, together with Germany’s progress, could go a long way towards defining the final order of Pool D.
And that order will matter beyond Cluj-Napoca, as Pool D crosses with Pool B in the Round of 16 in Sofia.
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🏐| CEV Enel EuroVolley 2026 | Thursday, September 10, 2026
POOL A📍Arena Piazza del Plebiscito Naples
• 21.05 (Local Time) | Italy – Sweden
🏐| POOL A STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Slovakia 0
2. Greece 0
3. Italy 0
4. Slovenia 0
5. Czech Republic 0
6. Sweden 0
POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
• 16.00 (Local Time) | Poland – Portugal 3-0 (25:12, 25:18, 25:20)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Israel – Ukraine 1-3 (22:25, 19:25, 25:22, 19:25)
📸| PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH
🏐| POOL B STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Bulgaria 3
2. Poland 3
3. Ukraine 3
4. Israel 0
5. Portugal 0
6. North Macedonia 0
POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Finland – Denmark 3-0 (25:22, 25:17, 25:20)
🏐| POOL C STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. Finland 3
2. Serbia 0
3. Belgium 0
4. Netherlands 0
5. Estonia 0
6. Denmark 0
👉🏼POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj-Napoca
• 17.00 (Local Time) | France – Switzerland 3-0 (25:23, 31:29, 25:21)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Türkiye – Germany 1-3 (25:23, 22:25, 21:25, 19:25)
🏐| POOL D STANDINGS (updated on this day)
1. France 3
2. Germany 3
3. Latvia 3
4. Romania 0
5. Türkiye 0
6. Switzerland 0
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NEXT GAMES: Friday, September 11, 2026
POOL A📍PalaPanini Modena
16.00 (Local Time) | Czech Republic – Greece
21.00 (Local Time) | Slovakia – Slovenia
POOL B📍Arena 8888 Sofia
16.00 (Local Time) | Ukraine – North Macedonia
19.00 (Local Time) | Portugal – Bulgaria
POOL C📍Nokia Arena Tampere
17.00 (Local Time) | The Netherlands – Belgium
20.00 (Local Time) | Serbia – Estonia
POOL D📍 BT Arena Cluj Napoca
17.00 (Local Time) | Germany – Latvia
20.00 (Local Time) | Switzerland – Romania
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